Two extra time goals from Bruce Djite have booked Adelaide United’s spot in the FFA Cup semi-final as the Reds beat 10-man Sydney FC 3-1 at Allianz Stadium.
Sydney, who made seven changes to the side that beat Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League on Saturday, played the final 35 minutes of the game without central defender Nikola Petkovic who was controversially sent off for a challenge on Fabio Ferreira.
Sky Blues coach Graham Arnold was incensed by the decision after referee Ben Williams opted to brandish the red card after an Adelaide move had broken down.
Williams, who refereed at this year’s World Cup in Brazil, has now sent off nine players in his last 20 games, and booked eight players across the 120 minutes.
But more crucially for Arnold, he will now be without the Serbian stopper Petkovic for Friday’s A-League clash with Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium, having earlier lost his central defensive partner Sasa Ognenovski for this game through suspension for his swipe to the head of Wanderers’ Vitor Saba.
Sydney FC have already indicated they will seek to get the red card and the automatic one-match ban that comes with it rescinded.
The Reds dominated the first half with classy Argentine playmaker Marcelo Carrusca pulling the strings in midfield as Sydney failed to get a foothold in the game.
Sergio Cirio gave his side a deserved lead with a smart finish in the 27th minute after Nigel Boogaard’s excellent pass out of defence found the Spaniard who controlled the ball on his chest and rolled it past Ivan Necevski.
The hosts were much improved after the restart with Saturday’s match-winner Alex Brosque introduced for Marc Janko.
The skipper’s impact was immediate as he grabbed the equaliser just after halftime with a dinked finish after Chris Naumoff and Milos Dimitrijevic had combined for Nick Carle to square the ball into his path.
With Ali Abbas now more involved, Sydney looked the better side going forward with Hagi Gligor and Brosque both squandering good chances following dangerous crosses into the box from the Iraq international.
With neither team wanting the burden of extra time, the game opened up in the final 10 minutes with both sides throwing bodies forward looked in vain for the winning goal.
Petkovic’s absence was sorely felt in extra time as Adelaide passed and moved the ball comfortably around the depleted home side with Djite making it 2-1 in the 95th minute when he turned home Carrusca’s low cross.
The former Socceroos striker then added his second eight minutes from time with a smart volleyed finish into the roof of the net.
